The magic is in the stitching

Classic Hawks sweater remains one of the most iconic in sports

For the 1955-56 season, the Blackhawks decided to ditch the barber-pole design that had been the fashion of the NHL for decades and create a new sweater &#8212; one that would become a classic.

The players would, for the first time, wear red jerseys at home.

Another, more significant change, involved the Indian head, a presence since the franchise's start. On both the new home and away jerseys, it would be larger and have bigger, brighter feathers.

That uniform has been tweaked through the years but is still the basic style the Hawks have worn ever since. The design has become one of the most iconic in the NHL and in all of professional sports.

"What we usually think of when we talk about good uniform design is you want to keep it to three colors," said Paul Lukas, the brains behind the blog Uni Watch, which is devoted to the minutiae of sports uniforms. "But the Blackhawks have gone with a lot of colors when you include all the colors in the headdress &#8212; you have green, gold, the skin tone and all that. And somehow, it doesn't look like overkill. It totally works."

But just what is it that makes the uniform so pleasing to so many eyes?

The answer, Lukas said, is in the stitching. The Indian head logo is done with an old-fashioned technique known as chain stitching, giving it a jeweled effect.

Decades ago, most teams used that method. But as cheaper and more efficient types of embroidery were introduced, chain stitching went by the wayside. Except, that is, for the Blackhawks and a handful of other professional teams.

Look closely at the feathers on the headdress of an authentic sweater. There's a kind of circular pattern to them. That's the result of chain stitching.

"It's got to be a pain for them to make," Lukas said.

It typically takes more time, costs more money and is more labor-intensive than newer types of stitching, but the effect is worth the effort.

"It's very textured, and it really makes the stitching on the jersey crest pop," Lukas said.

Like other NHL teams, the Hawks' sweaters decades ago were just that &#8212; sweaters, made of wool or cotton. Now the uniforms are made of more performance-friendly fabrics. The jerseys and socks are made at a Reebok factory in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, according to Rocco Amonte, a representative for Reebok CCM.

But there are other ways the Hawks have stayed true to their uniform's roots.

"They still use what we think of as the classic hockey template,"

Lukas said. "Meaning, stripes at the bottom of the jersey, matching stripes on the sleeve of the jersey and the matching stripes toward the bottom of the socks. That was what most of us grew up with as the classic NHL look. And it's something you see newer teams going away from."

When the NHL allowed teams to introduce an alternative uniform in the 1990s, some teams took that as an opportunity to introduce a new design and even phase out their older uniforms.

But the Blackhawks simply changed the color to black. The uniforms they wore for the 2009 Winter Classic were similar to the ones they wore from 1935-37. Like other members of the Original Six, the Hawks didn't mess with tradition. Why fix something that isn't broken?

"They've been remarkably consistent and one of the more stable-looking franchises in that regard," Lukas said.